


The Son & Heir of a Shyness

by BurntKloverfield



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 06:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23346772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/pseuds/BurntKloverfield
Summary: A modern high school au, where Rey is a new student, and Ben is horribly shy.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 24
Kudos: 143
Collections: Ijustfellintothissendhelp





	The Son & Heir of a Shyness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Semperfidani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semperfidani/gifts).



> This was for a moodboard swap event, and I got [Semperfidani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semperfidani/pseuds/Semperfidani)'s lovely moodboard!

“Rey Johnson?” the secretary clarified, squinting through her glasses at the computer screen. 

“That’s me,” Rey nodded, leaning against the counter. This wasn’t her first time switching schools. Being a foster kid meant that her environment was constantly changing, and she knew the drill by now. She glanced at Maz Kanata besides her, her new guardian who was not tall enough to see over the secretary's counter in the main office of the high school. 

"That's you," the secretary nodded, printing off papers and handing them to Rey. "I just need some signatures, but it looks like all your records have transferred."

"Thank you," Rey nodded, signing her own name and then offering Maz the paper and pen. 

As she turned, a tall boy entered the office. Rey felt her face flush. He was lovely, not that she'd ever say a boy looked lovely. He saw her then immediately dropped his eyes to the floor, past the slip of paper held tightly in his hands.

"I'll be with you in a moment, Ben," the secretary said, clacking away on her keyboard.

Maz handed the paperwork back to Rey who handed it to the secretary who in turn handed another paper to Rey. This one was her class schedule. She read through the classes, relieved that she didn't have any classes that she had previously taken. It was only her fourth different high school, but in each one, there had been a class or credit that hadn't transferred, so she had had to repeat a class or two.

"You should be ready to go. Have a great day, honey," the secretary nodded before waving to the boy, Ben, who had entered. "Actually, sweetheart," she paused, pointing back to Rey, "your first class is public speaking with Mr. Snoke, right?"

Rey looked back and nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Ben here has the same first class. I'm sure he'll be happy to show you there."

Ben seemed terrified, looking from the secretary to Rey and back again. He swallowed and nodded. He stepped forward and thrust the paper in his hand over the counter for the secretary.

She took it and read it over, nodding. "Another political function with your mother?"

Ben nodded. "Campaign season," he explained in a low quiet voice.

"Ah, yes, so it is. She has my vote. She's done so much for the schools." She set the note aside and started typing again. "No worries, you'll be excused all afternoon, but make sure to check in with your teachers and grab your work before you leave. I'm emailing them now."

He nodded.

"You're such a good boy, Ben. Now, you should go on ahead and show our new student, Rey, to class."

Maz chuckled and patted Rey on the elbow. "Have a good day. You know the way home? It's not too far to walk?"

Rey smiled and shook her head. "I'll be fine, Maz. See you after school."

She followed Maz out of the office and into the hallway full of students, and she gave a wave as Maz hobbled out the front doors. She looked over her shoulder at Ben who was waiting hesitantly besides the office door. The moment their eyes met, he dropped his gaze to the grimy tiled floor. He caught sight of her worn sneakers and the brightly colored sock showing through where the seams were starting to split. 

She thrust her hand out to shake his and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Rey."

"Ben," he returned, ignoring her hand and already walking off.

She stuffed her hand in her pocket and dashed after him to keep up with his long legs. "So, uh, your mom's a politician or something?"

He nodded, keeping his eyes straight ahead, turning to head up a staircase.

"That's cool. I thought of going into politics for a while, you know, trying to make things better for foster kids, kids in the system, but like, I’m just a foster kid.” They reached the top of the stairs, and he didn't reply, so she said, "I probably won't be here long, so it's not like you'll hurt your reputation by talking to me, you know?"

He stopped at an open classroom door, standing off to the side so she could go in.

"You don't have to be a gentleman," Rey said, adjusting her backpack strap on her shoulder.

"I, uh..." he reached up and ran his hand through is hair. Rey had seen boys do that, trying to make themselves look suave, but his trembling hand told her that he was not trying to look cool.

"Mr. Organa-Solo," a man greeted, setting a wrinkled hand on Ben's shoulder, "how kind of you to join us." He towered over Ben, who was tall himself, but the man was shriveled and sharp. If Rey hadn't noticed the strength in his grip on Ben's shoulder, she would have said that he was infirm. "And you must be the new student. I had expected a boy with a name like Rey. A very strong name. Means king in Spanish, if I recall correctly. Could be Latin, but I'm quite sure it was Spanish."

Rey nodded slowly. "That's me."

"Come now, come now, class is starting in a moment," Mr. Snoke ushered. He gestured for Rey to go in, but his other hand remained on Ben's shoulder, guiding the boy inside after her. "We do have assigned seating, Ms. Johnson. I believe that the front desk nearest the door is free."

Ben said something, but it was so soft that nobody could understand what he said.

"Speak up, boy!" Mr. Snoke growled, shaking him with the iron grip on his shoulder.

"That's my seat," he repeated, still quiet. He grimaced when the teacher tightened his hand, sinking unnaturally long fingernails into the fabric.

"Maybe if you showed up to class once in a while or spoke up, I'd remember you existed." He shoved Ben forward, and Ben caught himself on his desk. Mr. Snoke nodded to the desk behind Ben. "That one is free, Ms. Johnson." He spoke as if nothing had just happened and made his way to his desk.

Other students started to file in, and Rey looked between Ben and Mr. Snoke, horrified. She balled her fists and nodded to herself. She took Ben's hand and drug him out of the classroom.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mr. Snoke called.

Rey paid no heed, dragging Ben to the stairs. "Why do you let him treat you like that? He should be fired!"

He stopped her before she started down the stairway. "Can we go to the roof?" he whispered.

Rey paused, looking down the stairs and back up at his earnest face. She nodded, still frowning. He continued to hold her hand as he guided them to a maintenance door at the end of the hallway and up through an emergency set of stairs to the roof of the school. The bell rang just as he pushed open the rooftop door.

"Are you okay if you miss class?" he asked, voice trembling.

"I've done worse than skip class."

He didn't look at her, but he took his hand away. The door finally clicked shut, and he screamed out over the rooftop, his balled fists shaking. He turned. "You think I like this? You think I just let him treat me like this?" His eyes were filling with tears, but none fell over his cheeks. "This is the 3rd time I've been put in one of his classes, and he's failed me, every single time. He's been trying to get me into personal tutoring with him. If I fail..." He turned away from her and shouted out over the rooftop. "I'm the son of this senator, and I'm expected to be her eloquent poster boy! I'm supposed to be able to speak and have people listen. But nobody listens to me! He's a monster, but he's so respected that no one will touch him! I've tried telling someone! Anyone! And they just think I'm expecting special treatment, that I'm just a spoiled brat." His voice cracked, and the tears spilled over his face. He looked back at her. "The worst part? He puts me out as the good student who just needs to try harder, because I'm doing well enough in every other class. I haven't set foot in his classroom for over a month, but I have perfect attendance? I've never given a speech in his class, not a one, and I have a B right now. He's hanging it all over my head! I can't say anything that anyone will believe." He threw his backpack on the ground and kicked it and swore. "Why am I telling you any of this?" His anger ebbed away, leaving him tired and distraught. He slowly lowered himself into a squat, putting his hands on his head, and rocking with his rough breathing.

Normally, Ben's outburst would have been terrifying, but the emotions he had shouted at her felt close to home. She had tried to be a good kid, polite, respectful, useful, intelligent. She thought that if she was good enough, someone would keep her. A previous caretaker, a greasy dishonest man named Plutt, had taken advantage of her eagerness to be accepted, and so she had become his daytime laborer, nighttime maid and cook. She hadn't realized that she was actually being abused until CPS had stopped by unannounced. She had put on a happy face, but it hurt, going from home to home after that. She hoped that Maz's would work out, but Maz was the oldest guardian that she had been with, and it was a very real possibility that she might not live to finish raising Rey. Even with all that, Rey still longed to be accepted, to have friends and a family and to be given affection, to be paid attention to, to be cared about. 

Rey got down on her knees, and she wrapped her arms around his shaking shoulders. He slowly lowered from his squat down onto the ground and sobbed into her shoulder. She rubbed his back and slowly told him her story.

"I have someone who cares about me now," she continued. "I promised her that I wouldn't let anyone treat me like that again, and she would protect me the best she could. The thing is, I was afraid to stand up for myself. I was worried so much about how worse it could get if I tried to change things. I never thought that it could get better." She pulled away and rummaged into her own backpack. She turned back with a little travel pack of tissues and a chocolate bar and placed them on his knee.

He gave a smile, though his eyes and face were still red. 

"I'm going to go report him to the office," she said. "You don't have to come, but it will be easier if you're there with me to back this up."

The look in his eyes showed complete and utter awe. 

She stood, throwing her backpack over her shoulder, and offered her hand to him. He took it.

* * *

When Ben's mother came by to pick Ben up, she found him in the office, sitting side by side with a girl. She broke off a piece of a chocolate bar and handed it to Ben, looking up as Leia entered. 

"Ready to go?"

"Actually, Senator," the principal interjected, peeking out of his office, "do you have a moment?"

* * *

Snoke was promptly fired.

* * *

Rey and Ben were often found on the roof of the school, preferring to spend their new study hour there instead of Snoke's old classroom. Mostly they talked. They’d split a chocolate bar. They’d finish homework. They’d just catch the sunshine. 

“I never thanked you,” Ben said, sitting on the edge of roof, kicking his feet over the edge.

Rey smiled and shook her head. “I’m just glad that it all turned out. You should have never had to go through that.” She had taken off her well worn sneakers, a habit he had found endearing, though each time he caught sight of a worn patch or the hole growing in the souls, his heart ached. She swung her bare feet over the edge with him. “You should really believe in yourself, Ben. You’re spectacular.”

Ben raised his eyebrows at that. He had had a plan, and her words had thrown it all off. He tried to scavenge them, but the words were caught between his brain and his mouth, taking a detour through his heart and his spleen and back up to his tongue. He had practiced them over and over and over, about how she may have just been a foster kid, but she could do anything. She had already done so much for him by just standing up against Snoke. He tried opening his mouth. “You’re nothing.” He seized up the moment the words came out. “No, you’re…” He covered his face. “I didn’t mean it like that…” He looked back up to her. “You…” He groaned and swung his legs back over the ledge and turned to dig into his backpack. “Thank you.” He turned back with a shoebox and shoved it in her lap. “Thank you.”

She frowned, eyeing him before slowly lifting the lid. A pristine pair of white hightop sneakers stared back at her. 

Ben leaned over and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. He sprung to his feet, already zipping his backpack up. His cheeks and ears were bright red. Kissing her cheek had not been a part of the plan. 

Rey scrambled up and threw her arms around his middle. He slowly let his arms relax and wrap around her. 

“You’re not nothing. Not to me,” he whispered.

Rey laid her head against his chest. She had a friend, a boyfriend probably, a belonging. She would have never supposed that she’d fall for this shy boy, but this precious boy had fallen just as hard for her.

**Author's Note:**

> Looking for more? Check out my [profile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/profile) or my [Reylo Ficlets.](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/ReyloFiclets)


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